ARKLEY grew up on records by late 90s and early 2000s crossover dance acts such as Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx, and started experimenting with electronic production in the late 2000s after discovering 2manydjs, Justice and other cutting edge electro acts of the time. This led him to form live electro act Heads We Dance who were signed to 679/Warner, featured in NME and Mixmag, and topped the Hype Machine worldwide chart. Following a move to London, ARKLEY then became immersed in the capital’s drum and bass scene and made a name for himself as part of vocal D&B act Deuce & Charger. Over an intense 4 year period, the act received widespread support from BBC Radio 1 / 1Xtra, Kiss FM, Mixmag and DJ Mag, while releasing a string of tracks on the leading underground labels and being described by Data Transmission as “a force to be reckoned with in the global dance music scene”. ARKLEY aka Pete Bott is now making music as a solo act and has returned to his original musical influences with a joyous blend of skilfully juxtaposed samples for his new, debut single ‘Music (Over & Over)’, taking influence from funky New York hip-hop merged with French style electro for something truly unique! And here ladies and gentlemen is a rather special two part Back To Mine, one for the hands in the air moments and one for the chill headz…
5 Tracks to Keep The Party Going
Justice – ‘The Party’
The lyrics go “Let’s get this party started right…”, so this feels pretty apt! I love the combination of Uffie’s playful half-rap vocals with ridiculous faux-classical synth lines and electro slap bass. Only Justice could pull this off! From their debut ‘Cross’ album, which is one of my all-time favourites.
2manydjs – ‘No Fun / Push It’
‘As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt. 2’ has to be the greatest mix album ever made. This mashup of The Stooges with Salt N Pepa is rowdy as hell and I love it!
Jungle Brothers – ‘Doin’ Our Own Dang (Album Version)’
This comes from my favourite period in hip hop, especially with artists like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. A stand-out is this one from Jungle Brothers, which has such an irresistible groove and playful rhymes – an awesome, feel-good party tune! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G9NTpB4pnE). There’s also a really cool collab version with De La Soul, Monie Love, A Tribe Called Quest and Queen Latifah, plus a remix by a certain Norman Cook…
Django Django – ‘Free From Gravity (Busy P Remix)’
A bit of a 303 workout from the Ed Banger boss! This is my musical sweet spot – where alternative music meets electronic music. It’s got a great driving rhythm and Kraftwerk-eque drum track.
Basement Jaxx – ‘Magnificent Romeo’
This is a great rework of a classic Jaxx track which samples ‘The Magnificent Seven’ by The Clash. I love playing different versions of well-known tracks which give them a cool twist. Being able to play Basement Jaxx and The Clash simultaneously is pretty special!
5 Tracks To Chill Out
The Chemical Brothers – ‘Chico’s Groove’
This is from their debut album, which is one of the first records that got me into dance music when I was a kid. There are so many amazing banging tracks on the album (my favourite being ‘In Dust We Trust’), but it’s nice to reach for something a little more chilled to start winding the party down.
Peggy Gou – ‘Nabi’
Ok this is reasonably new but I had to slip it as it has such a cool, laidback late 80s / early 90s vibe. It reminds me a lot of the Pet Shop Boys’ album ‘Introspective’ with that special combination of late night euphoria and melancholia that is so hard to balance right.
Royksopp – ‘Sparks’
From another of the key albums that turned me on to electronic music when I was growing up. It still sounds so fresh yet timeless! This track is practically somnambulant but we’re getting to the end of the night now…
Pink Floyd – ‘Eclipse’
I’d like to send everyone off into the night with two uplifting tracks. The first is the closing track on ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. It’s only 2 minutes long but it feels pretty climatic.
The Avalanches – ‘The Divine Chord’
The debut album ‘Since I Left You’ must be one of the records I’ve listened to most; it’s just endlessly inspiring. After they took such a long break, I never thought they’d make another record again, let alone one as good as this collab with MGMT and Johnny Marr, which is so life-affirming – let’s end on a high!
